The Darkest Flame
by The Scollard
Summary: A powerful bender with a dangerous power is stalking the streets of Republic City, using his abilities to kill and destroy. Will the Avatar be able to stop this menace before it's too late, and what are the goals of the mysterious Mr. Smith?
1. The Mysterious Stranger

**The Darkest Flame**

**By: The Scollard**

**Summary: A powerful bender with a dangerous power is stalking the streets of Republic City, using his abilities to kill and destroy. Will the Avatar be able to stop this menace before it's too late, and what are the goals of the mysterious Mr. Smith?**

**Chapter 1: The Mysterious Stranger**

The noodle shop was busy, but was the best kind of busy. People were coming in and out, but stayed long enough for him to get a glimpse of their personality. The restaurant wasn't packed, as there were still empty tables, due in part to the lateness of the hour. It was perfect for him; there were people to monitor, but not enough so that he couldn't keep track of them all. He sat near the back of the restaurant, at a Pai Sho table set up so that regulars could have some games and entertainment with their meal, so that they would stay longer and order more food. He had a perfect vantage point of the restaurant from his table. He cast a quick glance to the door in time to see a young couple leaving before turning his attention back to the group he was studying. They were composed of two young men, and a young woman. From the colour of their clothes, and other pieces of information he picked up from their conversation, he pegged one of the men as a firebender, with the other man being an earthbender. The young woman seemed to be a water-bender, but he didn't have enough information to be certain. The firebender's personality is what interested him the most. He was the type of person he was looking for, the type that caused him to spend his time looking around various places in the city. He would be… perfect.

"Is there anything wrong with your meal, sir" the young waiter asked, taking him by surprise.

He quickly looked at the waiter, about to chastise the boy for causing him to lose his concentration, but stopped himself. He looked down at the table, spying his half-eaten bowl of noodles. He never seemed to have much of an appetite, and even though he recognized the value of eating, he never could do much of it.

"Nothing's the matter" he said, "I just don't seem to have much of an appetite".

He turned to look back at the group, which to his dismay were starting to leave. He had to strike now, before he lost his chance.

"Here" he said, "I have to go now".

He placed various coins on the table, more than he knew was necessary. He quickly got up and followed the group out of the restaurant, ignoring the waiter's shouts of his payment being more yuans than necessary. He continued following them down the street, filled with a few vendors setting up for the holiday tomorrow, where they turned into an alleyway. Perfect. He decided he would make his move then and there, moving quickly to cut them off.

"Wonderful night for a walk" he said, stepping out in front of them.

The three members of the group simultaneously raised their arms and went into a fighting stance. The young woman was bending some water from a flask, confirming his suspicions about her bending ability.

"Relax" he said, "I'm not going to hurt you".

The group kept their stances up.

"In fact, I am feeling rather generous tonight" he said, tipping the front of his fedora forward.

"What do you want?" the firebender said.

"To talk to you" he said, "To offer you something I think you'll be very interested in"

"And what is that?" the firebender said.

"Unbelievable bending power" he said.

"And let me guess, you are going to generously offer to sell me some tonic or rabbit-snake oil" the firebender said.

"No, of course not" he said, "I do things… differently".

He put his hands in the pockets of his overcoat and tilted his head up.

"But," he said, "to do that I need to speak with you…"

"… alone" he continued, while turning his head to stare at the other two benders.

"Kuzon," the waterbender said, "you can't trust a person like this. He's leading you into a trap".

"It's okay," the firebender said, "and besides, if he tries taking my wallet, I can easily kill him".

He smirked at the firebender's brazen display of overconfidence, but that was to be expected. After all, he had chosen him because of his personality.

"I'll meet you guys back at the base when I'm done here" the firebender said, "I'll be fine, you guys. Just go".

The two other benders ran past him down the alleyway, leaving the two of them alone.

"So?" the firebender asked, "What is this about unbelievable bending power?"

He glared at this strange man.

"I know to be careful if something comes along that seems too good to be true" he continued, "So if you really have this ability to make bending more powerful, show me a demonstration. Show me what you can do".

"Kuzon, is it?" he said, trying to remain courteous.

"Yes," the firebender said, "Kuzon Lee, member of the Triple Threat Triad"

"The bending triad?" the man said, "I thought they were completely destroyed when Amon started his crusade in Republic City".

"No," the firebender said, "We were driven into hiding, but now that that hypocrite is gone, we have a chance to rise again".

"I assume your two friends are part of the triad with you" he said.

"You guessed correctly," the firebender said, "The Triple Threats are dangerous. I could easily kill you if I wanted, and I will, if you don't show me an example of your magical bending power".

"You want an example?" the man said, "Don't worry, you'll see one".

The man took his right hand out of his jacket pocket, placing it in front of him with the palm facing upwards to the sky. Suddenly, a huge jet of flame erupted from his palm, shooting up at least 50 feet into the night sky. He held the flame for a few seconds, then extinguished it.

"How… How… That… It isn't" the firebender said, while trying to compose himself. "How did you do that? Bending like that shouldn't be possible outside Sozin's comet".

"Well," the man said, "I don't see any comet".

The firebender dropped his stance and walked towards the man, impressed by his display.

"So what are you, some kind of businessman by day who offers to improve peoples' bending by night" the firebender said, motioning to the man's attire.

The firebender was mistaken, of course, but the man could see why he assumed as he did. His attire of a completely black suit and tie, save for a white dress shirt, was similar to dress style of prominent businessmen. Businessmen, of course, and reporters. That being said though, normal people who dress that way would often add gold stitching in the shape of dragons and other spiritual animals to add colour to the suit, and to show their wealth and prominence.

"So how to do you make bending more powerful, Mister…" the firebender said.

"Smith, Mr. Smith" the man said.

"Unusual name in these parts" the firebender said.

"It was a common name in the western Earth Kingdom a long time ago, before the trade routes across the desert connected the continent and allowed for the mixing of the cultures" he said, "It's relatively rare in the Earth Kingdom, as other common last names like yours, Lee, came from Ba Sing Se and became popular out west. After all, anything from the capital is popular in the Earth Kingdom".

"But how can you improve my bendi…" the firebender had looked him in the eyes, "Your eyes, they're… they're red".

"Touched by Agni herself" Smith said, "I consider it a gift, like the energybending I will use to make you powerful. It will bring you closer to your element than you could have ever thought possible".

The firebender went into a fighting stance again.

"That's a lie" he said, "Only the Avatar can energybend. Amon said he could, but he was a bloodbending liar".

"I can energybend, and I'll prove it to you" Smith said, "Firebend, and you will see"

The firebender punched out his fist, sending out a huge blast of flame.

"That… That was so easy" he said.

"I am filled with energy, powerful energy that makes bending easier" Smith said, "I am filled with so much that small amounts radiate off me, making any bender in my vicinity more powerful. Now imagine if you have some of that power in you. Imagine what you could do".

"Please, do it" the firebender said, dropping to his knees.

"Don't resist," he said, "Nothing good can come out of it".

He placed two fingers on the firebender's forehead, and used his other hand to do the same to his sternum. He closed his eyes, and began the process. He felt no resistance, transferring the energy to the firebender, and then the process was over. The firebender fell to the ground, and he stepped away from the young bender. The firebender slowly got up, ready to test out his new power. Suddenly, pain shot through his chest, as if he were just punched. The pain intensified, making him feel as though he was burning from the inside out.

"AAAAHHHHHH" he screamed, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME".

He looked at his hands, covered with cracks filled with flame and patches of blackened skin. As the man looked on, he saw the same conditions on the rest of the firebender's skin, the same burning. The firebender continued screaming as his clothes caught on fire. As he stared at his hands on last time, he saw the skin on his fingers begin to disintegrate, showing the bone underneath. He let out one last loud scream, looking at the man who did this to him, who now had a smirk on his face.

And then he was gone. Disappearing in a burst of light. The fire completely obliterating him, as the man looked on. The man walked towards the spot where his latest victim was seconds ago, but which was now home to a scorch mark on the ground and air filled with bits of ash. He knelt down and picked up one of the man's surviving items. It was his wallet, made of leather, and partially blackened by the heat. He opened it, taking out its valuable contents and placing them in his jacket pocket. He tossed it back on the ground, and then let loose a huge blast of flame which finished the job and destroyed the wallet. He stood up and walked away, the man's screams were unlikely to attract anyone at this time of night, but there was always a chance, and he wasn't taking any. As he exited the alleyway, he started heading in the direction of the place he called home, whistling as he walked along the streets of Republic City.

**A/N: Now the idea for this fic came to me when I thought about making a LoK story that uses themes and ideas that would be normally found in or are based off of other types of stories. For example, the firebender's cause of death is based off of the effects of the Devil's Kiss vigor from Bioshock Infinite, thus the focus on the hands. That being said, I am mixing the ideas together with other ideas, and in turn mixing that into the Avatar-Verse. Smith's name is a shout out and a homage to the main franchise which inspired the villain of this story (To say which one exactly would be spoiling it). Smith's introduction is also a homage to that same franchise. Funny thing though, a day or two after I wrote this chapter, I realized that the effects of Smith's energybending were also very similar to that of the Extremis formula from Iron Man 3, just to show how ideas can mix, even unconciously.**


	2. Interest Piqued

**Chapter 2: Interest Piqued**

Lin Beifong was at her desk, various documents strewn about in front of her. Being Republic City's Chief of Police was a tough job, though it felt good to be back in her old position after Amon's defeat. She felt grateful for the everyday busywork she had to do, the signing of warrants, the meeting with city councilors, they gave her purpose. She didn't know what on earth she would do with her life when she was eventually forced to retire. Her work was practically her life. That being said, she enjoyed the excitement that occasionally came with a high profile case, the organization of raids, that sort of business. Her train of thought was disturbed when one of her young officers approached her desk with a file.

"Chief Beifong" the young man said, slightly nervous.

"Yes, what is it?" she replied.

"There is a file I think you'd want to see" he said, "It's a Missing Persons Report".

"Do you think I have time to deal with every small report or Missing Persons case?" she asked, suddenly growing angry. "That's why I have officers like you, to solve the less important cases and enforce justice for the smaller crimes that happen in this city".

"Bu-" the young man said, meekly.

"No buts," she said, "I am the Chief of Police, and I personally deal with bringing people like Amon, dangerous and powerful people, to justice. I don't deal with regular missing people. If you think it's worth investigating, give it to a detective, not me".

"Well, Chief Beifong" he said, "It isn't exactly a simple missing persons case, it could may as well be a murder, in fact. It's just that what the witness says happened is unbelievable, and we couldn't find any trace of a body in the area. The details are very interesting, and if our witness is telling the truth, absolutely terrifying".

She couldn't deny that her interest was now piqued by the young officer's claims.

"Alright, hand me the file" she said.

He placed it on her desk and attempted to scurry away.

"Stop, come back here" she said, "If it isn't as interesting as you made it out to be, well, you won't exactly get off easily. And besides, I may need some clarification or extra information".

He scurried back to the side of her desk, as she skimmed the file. Apparently, according to a witness, a young waterbender, she and her friends were approached by a strange man. The man apparently wanted to talk to her firebender friend, and her friend sent off the rest of the group after assuring them of his safety. The waterbender had stayed behind to see what was happening.

"Looks like our witness wasn't convinced that her friend would be safe" she remarked.

The waterbender had apparently seen the strange man pull an impressive feat of firebending after a conversation with her friend, but, sadly for the police, she was too far away to hear anything. After the display, her friend firebended, then the man did something, and her friend fell to the ground. As he was getting up, her friend seemingly caught on fire, then he exploded in a bright ball of light. The girl had run away after that, worried that the man might see her.

"Your right," Lin said, "this is worrying. If we have a firebender that has the ability to completely destroy people, and is using that ability to kill, then the people of Republic City could be in grave danger".

She closed the file; knowing that there was only was person who could peacefully stop this.

"You may go" she said, dismissing the young officer.

The young man departed from her office, leaving her to her thoughts. Something about the case seemed familiar, though she didn't know what. Pushing those thoughts aside, she picked up the phone. She had an important call to make.

The phone of Councilman Tenzin, located in his bedroom on Air Temple Island, started ringing. As it was early in the morning, most of the airbender's family was sleeping with him on the bed. His wife, with the newest member of the family, a boy named Rohan, shrugged in her sleep, having recently crawled back into bed after being awoken by his crying. The two middle children, Meelo and Ikki, were awoken by the phone and crawled across the bed in a race to answer it. Ikki won.

"Hello, you have reached the home of Councilman Tenzin. How may I direct yo-" she said.

All Lin heard after that was a brief, and loud, struggle. Suddenly a familiar voice spoke on the other end.

"This is Councilman Tenzin, how may I help you?" he said.

"Tenzin, good to talk to you again" she said.

"Hello Lin," he said, sighing. "What is it? This better be important seeing as it's a holiday and it's before noon".

Lin chuckled, all the councilmembers she had met as Chief of Police always seemed to anticipate the days council wasn't in session the way a child anticipated the Winter Solstice festival.

"Actually, it is" she said, "Sadly not for you. I need to speak to Korra, this is of the highest urgency".

Tenzin let out an exasperated sigh on his end. He really needed have some phones installed on the island, so that all calls to the island didn't need to wake him up. He hung up the phone and exited the room.

The young avatar was meditating at this hour. Having recently unlocked the Avatar State and consequently, the ability to communicate with past Avatars, she spent a lot of time trying to gain information and insight on how to best perform her Avatar duties. Recently though, she had been having trouble connecting to the spiritual side, as it had been harder recently for her to talk to her past selves. She heard the door slide open behind her and opened her eyes, a look of annoyance appearing on her face.

"What is it, Tenzin?" she said.

"Lin wants to talk to you" he said, "She's says that it is very important".

"Well," Korra said, "maybe it will have something to do with why I can no longer contact the previous Avatars".

"Korra," Tenzin said, "I know that your ability to contact your past selves is weakening, and that it is saddening you, but don't worry, it's probably nothing and your abilities will come back soon".

She stood up and faced him, putting one hand on the opposite elbow.

"I don't get it, Tenzin" she said, "I can still airbend, see".

She sent out a small gust of air, which ruffled Tenzin's robes.

"But I can't seem to contact my past selves anymore, even though I was able to do it pretty well" she said, "It just doesn't make sense".

Tenzin placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Well, maybe there is some reason for it that is unrelated to your abilities" Tenzin said, "We should head off to see Lin, see what is so important down at the station".

They found the Chief of Police standing in front of a door leading into one of the rooms used for questioning.

"Good to see you two, Tenzin, Korra" she said, while nodding to them as she said their respective names.

"What's so important that it involves the Avatar, Chief" Korra said.

"There is an interesting case that one of my officers alerted me to this morning" Lin said, "It is technically a Missing Persons report, but it seems to be something bigger".

"How?" Korra said.

"Well, it is only a Missing Person case because we can't find any evidence of anything greater, except, of course, our witness's statement" Lin said.

"And the witness is in the room behind you?" Korra said.

"Yes" she replied, "The witness is a young waterbender, female, around your age"

Korra was about to open the door when she realized that she had absolutely no idea about what she was supposed to do.

"Ummm" Korra said, turning to Lin. "What do I do in there?"

"Ask her about what she saw last night, and if you want to know more information or have something clarified, tell her" she replied.

"And here is the case file if you want to quickly go over it in there" she said, handing Korra a file which she hadn't noticed that Lin was holding the entire time.

She opened the door and stepped into the room. There was a table with two chairs, one empty and the other occupied by the waterbender. She turned her head to see Tenzin and Lin follow her into the room. She sat in the empty chair, and placed the file in front of her. She opened it and quickly looked through its contents; a photo of the missing person, a written copy of the witness's statement, and other details. She looked up to see the waterbender, visibly nervous.

"Are… Aren't you the Avatar" the young waterbender said.

"Yes" Korra replied, "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Okay" she said, "Last night, me and two of my friends were just walking home from dinner when a strange man cut us off. He said that he wanted to speak to Kuzon, my boyfriend and a firebender, to offer him unbelievable bending power. Kuzon sent us away to talk to the man, but I stayed behind and hid, just in case he got in trouble. They talked for a bit, but I was too far away to hear what they were saying, and then the strange man shot this huge flame up in the air".

"How big was this flame?" Korra asked.

"Huge, it was definitely over 50 feet. I never knew you make a fire blast that big" she replied, "Anyway, then Kuzon did some bending and dropped to his knees. Then the man did some strange gesture on him, and then… then…"

She started crying as she said that. Korra sat up from her chair and put a hand on the girl's shoulder to comfort her.

"Just tell me what happened?" she said, softly.

"He… He… He fell down to the ground in pain. Then his skin started cracking and blackening as though he was being burned, except there was no fire. He started screaming and his clothes caught on fire. Then… Then there was this big flash of light and suddenly he was gone. I ran away after that, so that the man didn't see me, and then, this morning came here and reported what I saw".

"I have a question" Korra said, interest piqued. "The police station is open all hours. So why didn't you come here as soon as possible?"

"Well," the girl said, "I couldn't believe what I saw, and I… I had to work up the courage to head here".

"There is another reason, isn't there?" Lin piped in.

The waterbender placed her head in her hands, exasperated.

"Me and Kuzon, and the other friend I mentioned, we…" she paused, "We are all part of the Triple Threat Triad, and my other friend, an earthbender, said I shouldn't go. He said that you guys would arrest me, or call me crazy, and that everyone would think that I was a snitch".

"Wait" Tenzin said, "If this girl is with the bending triads, isn't it possible that they are using this strange case to divert police resources away from stopping their illicit activities".

Lin raised her leg, revealing that one of her feet was bare. Her mother had spent countless hours training her to pick up on when people were lying.

"The girl isn't lying, Tenzin" Lin said, "So I wouldn't worry about that"

"But…" Tenzin started.

"And since I caught her in her lie earlier, she isn't the type that can lie without me knowing it" she said.

"Okay," Korra said, "I have another question. Where was the place you were eating before you encountered this man?"

"Qin's Famous Noodles" she said, "Best Earth Kingdom-style noodles in all of Republic City".

"Well that makes finding the restaurant and alleyway easy" Lin commented.

"When we were there, the shop wasn't crowded by any means. If you wanted to know" the girl said.

"And one final thing, what was this gesture the man used on your friend?" Korra said.

"Umm" the girl said, "Let's see. So you see he took a couple fingers on each hand…"

She began to mimic the actions she was describing.

"… and he placed a couple fingers on the forehead and a couple on the chest. Wait, why are you looking at me like that?" the girl said, noticing the shock appearing on all three of their faces.

"It's nothing" Korra blurted out before getting up out of her chair, exiting the room, and slamming the door behind her.

The other two followed suit, minus the door slamming.

"That… That can't be right" Korra said, "It's impossible. Only the Avatar can energybend. It's impossible".

"Relax Korra" Tenzin said, "He could be using something that looks like energybending, like Amon did".

"Well it looks like we have some investigating to do" Lin said, "You have the time, Tenzin, and it would be nice for me to get out of this office for a while".

"Fine" Tenzin said after letting out an exasperated sigh.

"I'll have my officers release the witness" Lin said, "Let's go check out this Qin's Famous Noodles. See if we can find out anything important".

**A/N: As the dialogue implies, this story takes place in the six months between Books 1 and 2. The interrogation scene was inspired by the interviews in the video game L.A. Noire, as well as the cross examinations from the Ace Attorney games, with pressing the witness to gain more information. Of course, having a Beifong allows lies to be detected easier than looking at someone's face for tells. Now, time to respond to reviews:**

**Anonymous- Smith does have a bigger plan than just killing random benders, though what exactly is that plan is something that will be revealed as the story progresses.**

**In the next chapter, Smith and Korra will meet for the first time, to give you guys something to look forward to. If you guys have any questions about the story, put it in a review. In fact, even if you don't have any questions, a review would still be nice as I appreciate constructive criticism.**


	3. A Dangerous Game

**Chapter 3: A Dangerous Game**

Korra, Lin, and Tenzin walked through the busy city streets on their way to Qin's Famous Noodles. The street was crowded with vendors, hoping to make extra sales due to the holiday. The sheer volume of people caused the police to block the road off to Satomobiles, which caused the three benders to abandon Lin's police vehicle. They made their way through the crowd to the restaurant where the waterbender said she and her friend went the previous night. When they eventually reached the place, Lin glanced behind her to the vendors' stands.

"After we check this place out, I'm going to see if any of the vendors who set up early saw anything" she said.

The three of them entered the restaurant, glancing around to get a feel of the place. The place seemed to be crowded, though quite a few of the tables were empty. The majority of the customers seemed to be crowded around something near the back of the restaurant. Before doing anything else, they walked over to the crowd to see what the commotion was. In the middle of the crowd was a Pai-Sho table, with a game going on at the moment. One of the players was a man who seemed to be in his 30s, though they couldn't really tell. He was wearing a black suit, with a black fedora. The other player was an old man, probably in his 60s, who was wearing a blue vest, with gold waves threaded through the fabric. The younger man seemed to winning the game, as his demeanor was calm compared to fluster exhibited by his opponent. The three of them were being pushed closer to the table by the crowd, and eventually, they were in the front row to witness the game.

"Is it someone new?" the man in black said, acknowledging their presence without even looking up from the board.

Suddenly, the man smiled. He placed a tile down near the center of the board, causing the other man to suddenly slap his forehead, and winning the game for the man.

"Seems not even you can break my winning streak, though I have to give you credit for trying" he said.

The two men stood up and shook hands. The older man was just about to leave when the younger man spoke up.

"Here, catch" the man said, tossing a Pai-Sho tile to his opponent.

After the older man studied the tile for a bit, he headed to one of the tables. The crowd started to clear away, there was probably not going to be another game in a while. The man in black studied his new spectators.

"Councilman Tenzin. Chief Beifong. Avatar Korra. I am honored by your presence here" he said.

"Well, we aren't here on purpose" Korra said, "We were, well, just investigating something here when we decided to see what all the commotion was back here"

"What is it you are investigating?" the man asked, "I am usually here from the afternoon to the night all days of the week, and could help you if you're looking for information concerning this restaurant."

"Uhh, okay" Korra said, "Now we can't give away all the details of case we are investigating, you must understand Mr.…"

"My name is Mr. Smith" the man said.

"Smith, ancient surname of the western Earth Kingdom, used to be extremely popular" Tenzin interjected.

"It seems you know the history of my surname, Councilman" Smith said.

"I strive to be a learned man" Tenzin replied.

Smith turned his attention back to Korra.

"What information are you looking for?" he said.

"Well, we were wondering if you saw a group of three teenagers in this restaurant last night" Korra said, "An earthbender, a waterbender, and a firebender, each wearing their element's colour".

"I believe I did see a group of kids that match you description" he said.

Korra and Smith locked each with each other for a split second as he said that to her, allowing her to notice something about him she missed the first time.

"Why are your eyes red?" she asked.

"Oh, no specific reason" Smith answered, "These eyes have been red for as long as I can remember. I consider it a gift, to be touched by Agni, the goddess of fire herself. It also helps bring me closer to my element".

"So you're a firebender" Korra said.

"Yes" Smith answered.

Korra looked in the eyes, trying to figure out if they were thinking the same thing, that Smith seemed a possible suspect. However, she couldn't tell.

"Councilman Tenzin," Smith suddenly interjected, "as a learned man and a member of the city council, you must know how to play Pai-Sho".

"I do" Tenzin said, "My father taught me when I was young".

"Well," Smith said, "then how about we play a game. I can give you your information as we play".

There was a sinister edge to his invitation that Korra picked up on.

"Of course" Tenzin said, "I would like to hear what you saw and break this little winning streak of yours".

"The thing is, Councilman Tenzin, I never lose" Smith replied.

Tenzin sat down at the table. The people in the restaurant took notice and started to crowd around the game. Thankfully, Korra and Lin already had front row seats. The men began talking as they collected the pieces left on the table from the last game.

"As you aren't able to see, Councilman" Smith said, "From my Pai-Sho table where I quite often spend my time, I have a good vantage point over the rest of the restaurant".

"And that is how you saw them" Tenzin said.

"Yes" Smith replied, "They came. They ate. They left".

"So, the girl wasn't mistaken in what restaurant she visited last night" Lin muttered, "That's a good start".

"And that's all" Tenzin said, surprised at the dearth of information the man offered.

"No, I can't be sure, you see, but I believe the waterbender and the firebender were arguing about something. From where I was, they were pretty loud and… expressive"

"Smith doesn't seem to be lying," Lin whispered to Korra, "but that doesn't necessarily mean what he saying is true, or was misinterpreted".

"Okay" Tenzin said as the men began their game.

Tenzin place his first tile onto the board. Smith smiled.

"Interesting move" he said, "I can't say I've seen it before"

Smith's eyes moves about the board, scanning for every possible move. He seemed different playing this game then he had before, he seemed to be more nervous.

"You didn't seem as invested in your last match as you are in this one" Tenzin said.

Smith looked up at him.

"I have never played you before, Councilman" he said, "Unlike the others, whom I have played tens of times".

The crowd gasped, as the last match was apparently the first time those two had played and large bets were made on that assumption.

"Sorry, what I meant to say was there are several strategies people will use, sometimes connected to what element they belong to. Due to these common strategies, it feels as though I have played people like my last opponent tens of times" he corrected himself, "But your strategy, it seems… new".

The crowd calmed themselves; after all, what he said made sense.

Smith placed down his first tile with a newfound air of confidence.

"Though, as I said before, I never lose" Smith said, "However, that isn't an excuse for me to let my guard down, despite your hopes that I will".

The two men continued their game, placing tiles with various symbols on the board. Korra had trouble following as she had never bothered to learn the rules of the game. However, she tried to figure out who had the upper hand by analyzing the two players. Both Tenzin and Smith seemed calm, which didn't tell her anything. Smith, with her confidence shining through his smirk, seemed to be calculating and setting up some plan. He seemed rather devious in fact, which made Korra realize that he seemed to be rather suspicious. Tenzin placed down a tile, a smirk appearing on his face.

"I believe your winning streak is at an end" he said to Smith.

The crowd gasped, they hadn't expected Smith to lose. Smith, on the other hand, kept his calm demeanor. He studied the board, and picked up one of his own tiles. As he placed it down, his smirk opened up into more of a grin.

"I believe you know what they say about snatching victory at the edge of defeat" Smith said, "I have won. None of the moves you can make will be able to beat me".

The crowd gasped again, as Tenzin studied the board. Korra knew that he wasn't beaten yet, he must still have something up his sleeve. However, Tenzin stood up instead and shook Smith's hand.

"Thank you, Councilman" Smith said.

The crowd dispersed after that, as the game, with its predictable outcome, was over, leaving the four of them alone.

"That was refreshing" Smith said, "I have played this game many times before, and that added some excitement to it".

"What do you mean?" Tenzin asked.

"When you play as much as I do, all the similar events fused together, leaving you unable to remember specific parts" Smith said, "The parts you do remember are the different experiences, different strategies. I never lose, so the ending stays the same, but the story itself changes, and that is what makes things exciting".

"Speaking of which…" Smith said.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, blank Pai-Sho tile. He borrowed a pen from a waiter and wrote something down on it.

"…here you go" he finished, tossing the tile to Tenzin.

"What is this?" Tenzin asked.

"A memento" Smith said, "A reminder".

The group moved away from Smith's table after that, stopping in the aisle just out what they thought was Smith's earshot.

"What does the tile say?" Korra asked, whispering.

"It just has the number 1 written on it" Tenzin whispered, "I don't know what it is supposed to mean".

"What?" someone said.

The group looked over. The person who spoke up was the man in blue who had lost to Smith when they came in. He walked over to them, fishing through his pockets.

"That's strange" he said, showing them a tile like Tenzin's, "Mine has the number 83 on it, and so does the ones he seems to give to everybody he plays. What makes you so special?"

"I have no idea" Tenzin said, "Now, we must be going"

"Wait, Tenzin" Korra said, "Shouldn't we speak to the guy at the counter? Maybe he knows something".

"That would be a good idea" Lin said.

They walked up to the counter where a waiter was waiting for take-out orders. He immediately greeted them.

"How may I help you today?" the young man said.

"Were you here last night?" Lin asked.

"No" the man said, "However, the waiters are working the night shift will be here tonight. You can ask them then".

Korra and Lin looked at each other. They couldn't get any information on the group which contained the victim. Korra got the idea to ask about Smith and see if the waiter could give them more information on the mysterious man.

"Do you know anything about the man at the Pai-Sho table in the back?" Korra said, motioning towards Smith.

"Yes, I can tell you a bit about him, though I'm afraid Mr. Smith is just about as mysterious to me as he is to you" he said.

"Mr. Smith visits the restaurant almost every day, having at least two meals here. He spends lunch and the evenings at the Pai-Sho table. Occasionally, he plays games of Pai-Sho, which he never loses. He never told me anything personal, nobody knows about his past or his profession, where he gets the money he gives away so freely, and though he may have let a little information slip out to a waiter, it is unlikely" he said, "However, we do enjoy having him here".

"Why is that?" Korra asked.

"One, he tips well. I believe I heard his waiter last night got a very big tip from him" he said, "Also, when he is around, there seems to be this nice, calming aura, filling you with energy and making your job easier".

He motioned towards the kitchen.

"In fact, the cooks complain when he isn't around because they feel as though it is easier to bend and control the stove fires when he is here" he continued.

Korra stopped for a second to think, she did seem to sense the aura the waiter was talking about, but only a tiny bit. Interesting, very interesting.

"Okay, thanks" Korra said, "Now, I would like a bowl of your classic noodles. To go, please".

Tenzin grabbed her arm and started dragging her out of the restaurant.

"Korra, this is no time to be eating" Tenzin said, "We have important things to do".

"But Tenzin," Korra said, "I'm hungry".

"You can get a quick snack at one of the vendors outside" he said, slightly flustered, "But we are not staying in this restaurant".

She let out a quick apology to the waiter as they exited the restaurant, with Lin following right behind. When they were outside and slightly away from the restaurant, Lin stopped them to talk.

"I'll talk to the vendors while you and Korra can do some shopping" Lin said, "The merchants set up shop early, so maybe one of them saw what happened last night".

Lin turned to leave.

"Wait, Lin" Korra said, "I need to talk to you about Smith".

"What is it?" she said, turning to face her.

"There something about him, I don't know what exactly, but something about him makes him very suspicious. I don't trust him" she said.

"You're right" Lin said, "There's something off about him that showed itself during his game with Tenzin. That cold, calculating nature, not to mention the utter glee he had when he outsmarted his opponent. It's very suspicious, and suggests that, if he is our killer, we should be careful while dealing with him".

Lin turned directly to Tenzin.

"Tenzin" she said, "I don't know what, but something is eating away at me. This case seems familiar, and I'm trying to figure out why. It's gnawing at me, I feel that I recognize the some of the elements of the case from somewhere, but I can't seem to figure out where exactly from".

"I agree" Tenzin said, "Something does seem strangely familiar".

He shrugged.

"Perhaps it will come to you as we investigate more" he said, "Me and Korra will find you when we're done".

"Yes, I suppose we should start looking around" she said, "One of these vendors might hold the key to solving this case".

**A/N: Ahh, another chapter up. And now we Avatar fans also have the premiere of Book 2. Great episodes, with some great new characters introduced. Due to the change in Republic City's government that was mentioned on the "Last Time on…", as well as the changes in status that a few characters have gone through, I am planning to add some mentions to them in order to keep this fic as canonical as possible. You will see in some later chapters just exactly where Republic City is in between the one we saw in Book 1, and the one we caught a glimpse of at the start of Book 2. Please review if you have any questions, I will try to answer them to the best of my ability without spoiling the fic. Also, review even if you don't have any questions and like the fic, I love hearing feedback and constructive criticism.**

**EDIT: Fixed some spelling mistakes**


	4. Crime Scene Investigating

**Chapter 4: Crime Scene Investigating**

He watched as the Avatar and her group left the restaurant from his table. He had heard their conversations with both his previous opponent and the waiter, and figured out what they were trying to do. It wasn't easy, and he had to concentrate to listen to their conversations, especially the one with the waiter. He smirked. Things were going exactly according to plan. He reminded himself that he still needed to the careful. His game with Tenzin was an unknown quantity, one that changed the situation only a tiny bit. Even a small change though, could spiral out of control, and he definitely needed to keep the situation under his control. His plan was perfect, it had served him well until now, and it would serve him well again. The Avatar was suspicious of him, he knew that, and quickly thought up a way to use it to his advantage. Yes, things were proceeding nicely, very, very nicely. He stood up from his table and walked to the front.

"I think I've played enough Pai-Sho games for today" he said to the waiter at the counter, "I'll see you later".

"Yes, Mr. Smith" the waiter replied.

Now, if he was quick enough, he had just enough time to pull this off.

* * *

Korra walked through the market. There were tons of vendors on both sides of her, crowding the street that would normally be used by Satomobiles. She did prefer the market to a busy street with all sorts of vehicles running along it. Tenzin had left her to go check something out, there was something at the market which Pema wanted him to get. As Korra moved through the crowd of people, she browsed the food vendors. There were vendors selling fresh fruit, vendors selling cooked meats, and others who sold fancy ingredients imported from the farthest reaches of the four nations. A fruit vendor caught her eye and she moved towards him. His stand was filled with fruits all colours of the rainbow, with bright yellows and greens contrasting with blue and purples. She started asking him what fruits would satisfy her need for a filling snack. It took her a bit of time, fifteen minutes, and a bit of the merchant's patience, but she had narrowed down her choices to a couple different fruits.

"So what's this green one again?" she said.

"That is a lime" the merchant said, exasperated, "It is a sour fruit, not one that would make a good snack".

"So what ones would you recommend?" she asked… for the fifth time.

The merchant was about to start yelling, but stopped himself. Then, Korra heard a voice.

"If you are looking for a snack, Avatar, I would personally recommend a tiàn lemon, one of the yellow fruits" a male voice said.

She turned to her side, and saw a familiar man dressed in black, Mr. Smith.

"It is quite tasty, though I have to admit it is an acquired taste" he continued.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I am browsing the market, as many people are doing today, and I find it serendipitous that we meet each other again, Avatar" he said.

"I find that hard to believe" she said.

"Find what hard to believe, that I decided to browse the market after our conversation, and that I just so happened to run into you" he said.

There was something off about him and the way he talked, as if he knew something she didn't, and that whatever suspicions she had of him, she couldn't prove anything. Something about just wasn't… normal. Korra decided to make her purchase and find Tenzin, getting away from there. She turned to the merchant.

"I'll take one of those lemons, the one he recommended" she pointing towards Smith.

As the merchant retrieved the fruit, she fished around for some money. Sadly for her, she didn't have any. She should have asked Tenzin for some earlier.

"Never mind about that" she said, "I'm all out of money".

The merchant let out an exasperated sigh, and was about to put the fruit back when Smith spoke up.

"I will pay for the Avatar's purchase" he said, "After all, we do owe her a great debt".

"No, you really don't need to" she said, freaked out by Smith's demeanor, "I'm okay if I don't buy anything, you really don't need to do this",

"I insist, Avatar" he said, "After all, in the grand scheme of things, it really is nothing and won't affect me at all".

"You would know about schemes" she muttered under her breath, as Smith tossed the money to the merchant. Thankfully, he didn't seem to hear her comment.

"Here, Avatar" he said, handing the fruit to her, "Just a small gift from one person to another".

She reluctantly took the fruit from Smith. After that, he walked away from her, maybe to accost some other stranger. She looked down at the fruit, not knowing whether to eat it or throw it away, the latter option coming up due to her conversation with Smith. She eventually decided not to waste the fruit, and started peeling it. She started walking around, looking for Tenzin or Lin. When she had completely peeled it, she took a big bite into the fruit. From what she had heard about lemons, she had expected it to be very sour, but it wasn't. It was more of a surprising and strange combination of sweet and sour that she couldn't find the words to describe it. However, she did like the taste.

"Korra, there you are" Tenzin said, from the crowd.

He walked through the crowd towards her, eventually getting close enough for both of them to see each other. Tenzin was holding a statue of sorts, something he bought for Pema.

"So what do you have there?" Korra asked.

"Art, I suppose. I really don't see what Pema sees in these things" he said, when they were side by side, "Anyway, I see you got your snack".

"Yeah, though something interesting happened to me while I got it" Korra said, "While I was browsing the merchant's stuff, Smith showed up and recommended me something, and paid for it when I realized I didn't have any money".

"Strange" Tenzin said, "What did he recommend you?"

"A lemon" Korra said.

Tenzin shuddered a bit when she said that, for some reason… possibly relating to childhood pranks and older siblings.

"It's actually pretty good, Tenzin" she said, "I think you'll like it".

"No thanks" he said, "I have had enough lemons to last a lifetime".

"I actually think you'll like it a lot, Tenzin" she said, "Here, you can try some of mine".

"As I have said before, Korra, I don't want any more of that fruit" he said.

"Oh come on, Tenzin" she teased, "Are you really scared of a small fruit?"

"No, I simply don't want any" he said.

"Really, one tiny bite won't hurt you" she said, "Come on, try it".

Suddenly he turned around.

"I DON'T WANT ANY LEMONS" he yelled, his face turning red.

He turned and started walking away, with Korra being too shocked to follow him. She blinked twice fast, with each blink seemingly letting a small ding. She quickly regained her composure and followed him. They found Lin soon after that, talking with a man in front of a vendor's stand. The man looked to be very sleepy, with dark circles underneath his eyes.

"Ah, good" Lin said, "I don't need to find you too after all".

"We came as quickly as we could, Lin" Tenzin said.

"And what is that you're holding?" she asked.

"Art, apparently" Korra replied.

"Oh. Well, I was talking to this merchant here," she said pointing to a significantly less tired man behind the stand, "and while he was here last night, he woke up the guy who was up late setting up the merchant's stand".

"Anything for the Chief of Police" the merchant said.

"So, I was just about to talk to him when you two showed up" she said.

"Umm" the sleepy man said, "Can we just get this over with. I need to get back to sleep. I'll have to pack up a lot of the stands when the market closes, and I should be all rested up for that".

"Ok" Lin said, "Last night, did you see anybody or anything suspicious, down any of the alleyways?"

"Yeah, I saw a couple teenagers go down that alleyway right across from you" he said, pointing across the market, "They seemed to be followed by someone, I couldn't tell you any exact details, but they seemed to be wearing all black".

"And doesn't that sound like someone we know" Lin said to Korra and Tenzin.

"Smith" Korra said, "He is looking more and more suspicious".

"Umm" the sleepy man said, "Can I go now?"

"Did you see anything else?" Lin asked.

"No" he said.

"Then yes, you can go" she said.

Lin turned to Korra and Tenzin.

"I think it's time to check out this alleyway" she said.

As they pushed through the crowd towards the alleyway, the subject of Smith came up between them.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he was the killer" Korra said, "He certainly seems cold and creepy enough to do it".

"Yes, I agree" Tenzin said, "Korra, why don't you tell Lin about your conversation with him?"

"Where was this?" Lin said, "What did he say?"

"Well, when I was getting my snack and was trying to figure out what fruit to get, he came up and recommended me something" Korra said, "I asked him why he was there… Oh, and when I didn't have any money, he paid the vendor for me. He said that it was nothing and that we owe the Avatar a great debt".

"Not surprising" Lin said, "Even though I would have hated to admit it several months ago, you have saved and brought balance to this city, and it and all the people within it owe you a great thanks".

"I know, all a day's work for the Avatar" Korra said, "But, there was something strange about the way he said it, like he knew something I didn't and was gloating in that fact. What if we are playing right into Smith's hand, and he knows that we will probably do something, or have done something, to help him".

"If that is so, Korra" Tenzin said, "Then we will just have to try and avoid his traps. Just remember, he is probably expecting you to rush right into things, like you did when facing Amon. We have to be careful and look at every possible move like-"

"Like a game of Pai-Sho" Korra said, "I know, Tenzin".

"If we are careful, Korra," he said, "we should be able to stop him".

They had reached the alleyway, the one that the sleepy man had seen the victim head down. Korra looked to her left and saw a small opening leading to probably another, smaller alleyway. All three of them started looking for any clues, but it was difficult due to having to sort out which things in the alleyway were clues, and what was just garbage. However, it didn't take long for Lin to find something.

"Korra, Tenzin. Come here" she said, motioning them towards her.

It didn't take long for Korra to see why Lin had called them over. In the middle of the alleyway was a burn mark, a circle of black soot literally burnt into the concrete.

"Whatever caused this must have been burning incredibly hot, as well as large" she said, "From what we heard from the waterbender, coupled with this, I'd not only say what she described to us actually happened, but that we are looking on the spot where her friend died".

"So she didn't misinterpret anything that happened here?" Korra asked.

"No, she didn't" Lin said.

Korra looked to her left after investigating the burn, and saw an opening to small, side alleyway.

"You know what?" she said, "I'm going to check this area out. If my idea is correct, this will lead to an opening right by the entrance to the alleyway".

"Ok" Lin said, still analyzing the burn.

Korra walked through the small opening, which lead her to a cramped side alleyway. It couldn't allow more than two people through at a time, and even that would require a lot of coordination. She pushed some garbage out of her way as she headed in the direction of the street. She eventually reached an opening, the same one she saw earlier. This was probably how the killer managed to get in front of the group after following them. She looked into the crowded street, leaning up against the wall of the alleyway to just relax for a couple seconds. She saw blurs of people far away on the other side of the road rushing through the market. She saw people of various nationalities mingling and browsing the wares of the merchant. Suddenly, she noticed something black in the crowd. She focused to get a better look. It was a man, Smith, and he was staring straight at her. He was grinning, the same sinister grin that he had on when he beat Tenzin in Pai-Sho. They looked in to each other's eyes, and he shook his head, the grin still plastered on his face. He seemed to chuckle a bit, then turned away. When he was gone, Korra thought about what had happened. This was the second time she had seen him in the market. He seemed to be following them. In her mind, that made him even the more suspicious. When she got back into the larger alleyway, Lin and Tenzin were in the middle of a conversation.

"Horrible thing to happen to anyone" Lin said.

"Yes" Tenzin agreed, looking up to notice Korra.

"Korra, did you find anything?" he said.

"Yeah" she said, "This alleyway leads out into the road. This was probably how our killer managed to cut off the group as they walking through".

"Well, the picture of what happened is becoming clearer" Tenzin said, "We have to make sure nobody else is killed like this. Horrible thing, to take someone's life just as it was truly starting. But that is one of the consequences of being young; you are reckless and put yourself into unnecessary danger".

"Consequences…" Lin muttered.

She stood up, and started rubbing her chin. Then suddenly, it was as though she had a lightbulb flash over her head. She let go of her chin and pointed her finger out in front of her.

"Consequences, that's it!" she exclaimed.

"What is it, Lin?" Tenzin said.

"I knew some of the details of this case seemed familiar" she said, "Tell me Tenzin, who did we meet as teenagers who went on and on about consequences?"

"Mr. Lee" he said, "Your right, the suspicion of seeing something like this before was gnawing away at me since this morning".

"Umm" Korra said, "Whose Mr. Lee?"

"A waterbender we met as teenagers, when me and Tenzin were still a couple" Lin said, "We came into contact with him while working with my mother and Avatar Aang".

"Lin, that was over thirty years ago" Tenzin said, "I don't think Lee even can be involved in this"

"Can one of you tell me who exactly this Mr. Lee is? I think I have the right to know" Korra said.

"Fine" Lin said, "I'll tell her the story, Tenzin".

She turned to Korra, and looked her in the eyes.

"As Tenzin already said, this took place over thirty years ago. If my memory is correct, 34 years to be exact. I was training with my mother in the duties of being an officer of the law, while Tenzin was learning firsthand the duties of being a leader in the city, such as dealing with the seedier side of Republic City's already seedy underworld".

"I wouldn't say that anything that happened that day had anything to do with being a councilman" Tenzin said.

"I think your father would agree with me in saying it helped you in some ways" Lin said.

"Anyway" she said, turning back to Korra, "It all started with what seemed at the time to be a fairly normal arrest, but spiraled into something, much, much bigger".

**A/N: FLASHBACK TIME! The next two or three chapters take in the year 137 ASC (After Sozin's Comet), with older Aang and Toph, and teenaged Tenzin and Lin. I'll get to their exact ages in next chapter's author's notes.** **The chapters also take place some years after the incident with Yakone, the previous LoK flashback. Sorry this one took so long, as even though this chapter was easy to write, the next chapter wasn't, and I attempt to have the next chapter ready before I release the previous one to allow me to look it over objectively and to correct any inconsistencies. I was also writing a new chapter for one of my other fanfics. We'll also find out more about this mysterious Mr. Lee next chapter. So, if you're liking the story, please review. Also review if you have any questions. Speaking of which;**

**Bubbles975: The numbers are exactly what Smith said they were, (Grins and changes voice to sinister, Smith-like voice) a… reminder.**

**And that's all the questions for this week, ladies and gentlemen. Cave Johnson out.**


	5. (137 ASC) A Blast from the Past

**Chapter 5: (137 ASC) A Blast from the Past**

The four benders stood in front of a large building, a casino owned by one of the most powerful men in Republic City, already knowing exactly who and what was inside. The arrest would be simple, the evidence against the water tribe man was overwhelming, and a conviction should be very easy to get.

"So Twinkletoes" Toph Beifong said, "Ready to your hands dirty?"

The blind police chief was almost fifty, as evidenced by her once black hair now being all gray. A metalbending police officer came up to them.

"We scouted the outside of the building and are covering all exits, Chief Beifong" he said, "There's nowhere for him to run".

"Okay, Officer" Toph said, "Head back to your post, the four of us will make the arrest".

As the officer walked away, one of the younger benders spoke up.

"Father, I do not see why I need to be present at this arrest" Tenzin said.

"Tenzin, this is experience" Aang said, "If you want to be a councilor, you may have to participate in arrests like these every so often. The job of a councilor isn't all paperwork and politics, it requires action as well".

"Besides," he said, looking his son in the eyes, "I enjoy spending time with you".

"Don't worry, Tenzin" Lin said, "It'll be fun, smashing heads together and fighting. We aren't going to let this guy run Republic City any longer".

* * *

"Wait" Korra said, in the present, "You were like that when you were a teenager".

"You could say Lin took after her mother when she a teenager, although, unlike her mother, she eventually grew out of her hotheaded nature" Tenzin said.

* * *

"Lin" Toph said, "I wouldn't call what our target is doing running Republic City. He is simply the leader of one of the bending gangs, and while he isn't running the city, he fighting a destructive gang war in order to try".

"This is going to be fun" Lin said, cracking her knuckles.

"Toph, it's about time we went inside" Aang said, "Before he suspects anything is up".

They started walking into the building before Aang suddenly stopped.

"Toph, what about our informant?" he said, "How will we know who they are?"

"They said they would meet us inside the casino, so I suggest we just arrest this guy, then wait them to make themselves known to us" Toph said.

They all walked into the large building, seeing a den of inequity before them as they passed through the doors. There were tables for Pai-Sho, tables for dice, and tables for just about any game one could think of money being wagered on. The waitresses were all young women, giving the men of the establishment their drinks, as well as other, more… lucrative things. They walked through to the back of the casino, aware that the eyes of several guards were following them. As they reached the back office where they target was, Aang saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked to see what it was, and saw a man, dressed in a black suit and a fedora, watching the group from one of the Pai-Sho tables at the back, near their destination. As they looked into each other's eyes, the man smirked at them. Aang looked back to where they were going, the door to the casino's office was at the end of a short hallway that opened into the casino's large room. Aang noticed holes in the walls near the opening, and wondered what their purpose was, after all, they could be a danger.

* * *

"Wait a minute" Korra said, "How did you know exactly what Aang was thinking at the time?"

"Well" Tenzin said, "Later on, my father discussed with all of us about what had happened, and all those things came out, what each of us noticed and such. If something doesn't make sense or there is something that we tell you about which neither me nor Lin could have seen, assume we got the information from someone trustworthy".

* * *

As they approached the door to the casino's office, a large man in a gray suit and red tie holding a briefcase pushed past them, rudely knocking them out of his way. As he reached the opening, bars of ice shot out from the walls, blocking his entrance to the office. Aang turned to see who had done it, and saw the man in the suit with his hand in a waterbending stance. The man got up from his Pai-Sho table and walked over to them.

"Chang" he said, "What in the world are you doing here?"

The man, Chang, who seemed to be some sort of businessman, fixed his tie.

"I'm here to see your boss" he said, "I would like to try and make a deal with him".

The man in black chuckled.

"Seriously, Chang" he said, "The boss doesn't do business with people like you, especially since we are currently at war with the triad you happened to do accounting for".

"C'mon, Lee" he said, "I just need to talk with him".

The man, Lee, grabbed his forehead and started shaking his head.

"I mean really Chang, what are you doing here?" he said, suddenly grabbing Chang by the collar with one hand and pulling him in close so he could look him in the eye, "You know full well that this is a dangerous place for your kind. There are consequences to this sort of thing, and for you they will probably involve your body being found floating in the bay with maggot-rats eating at it. So please, go before anything bad happens".

The man let go of Chang's collar. While he was holding him, Aang could have sworn he saw something on the man's wrist. It looked like a small flask of some sort. The man placed his hands in his suit's pockets as Chang glared at him. After a couple seconds though, he turned away, smacking his palm into his forehead as he exited the casino. The man looked at the group.

"Don't worry about him" he said, "He is a businessman who works for the Agni Kai's who's been trying to buy this place from the boss for a while. It's none of your business, Officer".

"I think when a conversation heads to death threats, I think I becomes my business" Toph said.

"Relax, I wasn't serious" he said, "Showing force is the only way you can get rid of parasites like Mr. Zhao Chang. I'm planning on dealing with him later".

"By the way" Aang said, "You never told us your name. Who are you?"

"My name is Mr. Lee" he said.

"First name?" Toph asked.

"Didn't you hear" he said, "It was Mister".

The man's voice was dripping with sarcasm. He was almost like Toph when she was younger in that regard, except the two's verbal sparring would have probably quickly escalated to sparring in the physical sense.

"Oh, dear me" the man said in a monotone voice, "I didn't know who I was talking to. Avatar Aang, and Chief Beifong, it's an honor to see you here in our small business".

The man's sarcasm made it exceedingly clear that he had known who they were from the beginning, and that he wasn't too surprised that they were here.

"So, will you let us see your employer?" Aang said.

"Of course" the man said, "After all, you're the Avatar, and I get the feeling that if I don't let you in, someone will come in a break the door down, and sadly, I'm afraid we don't have money for door repairs in the budget".

He raised his hands and waterbended the ice back into the holes they came from, allowing the group to proceed. As he walked back to his table, Aang noticed he had a flask attached to his belt. As he reached his table, he turned back and locked eyes with Aang. He had blue eyes, which reminded him of something that Katara told him. Apparently, according to a legend, a lot of waterbenders have blue eyes because they were touched by the Ocean Spirit herself, their eyes matching the element they bended. Of course, Aang couldn't really comment on whether the legend was true or not, though he was probably seen as an authority in the subject, due to meeting the Ocean Spirit. The group walked up to the door and opened it, revealing the lavish office behind. There were paintings by famous artists, stuffed animals bodies of various animals spread out throughout the office. Their target was sitting at his desk, located right across from the door. He looked up at them.

"Hello, Police Chief Beifong and Avatar Aang" he said, "I wasn't expecting a visit".

He was a wearing a blue suit underneath a fur-trimmed jacket made up blue fabric, with even the whites of his attire being dyed shades of light blue. He was a short man, in his 30's and wearing glasses.

"Yarolaq" Toph said, "You are under arrest".

He sighed, then smiled at bit, thinking he could easily get out of this.

"And may I ask what I am being charged with?" he asked.

Toph took out a piece of paper and handed it to Lin, who started reading the charges aloud.

"Yarolaq, who are being arrested for murder, racketeering, extortion, money laundering…" Lin said.

"Ah, Police Chief" he said, interrupting her, "I see you can't read my supposed crimes aloud. Problem with the eyesight?"

"Frankly, what you're doing is getting you nowhere but the inside of a cell" Toph said, "I would have memorized what we were arresting you for, but the list was so long I stopped caring halfway through".

"Ah" he said, "Well, maybe you can get your little brat to continue then".

As Lin continued reading the charges, Aang studied Yarolaq's face. As each individual crime was read, Yarolaq grinned and shook his head, believing it to be almost impossible for him to be convicted of them.

"Chief Beifong, may I ask you to stop wasting my time? You know it will be practically impossible to put me in jail for any of these" he said.

Toph let out a smile at this, that classic Beifong smile.

"Lin, continue reading the list" she said.

"Okay" she said, "Let's see… kidnapping, property damage, and most of all, tax evasion".

At the mention of the last one, a look of shock appeared in Yarolaq's eyes. His face dropped and he started stammering.

"How… How… What… How did… How did you get that information?" he said.

"Surprised, Yarolaq" Toph said, "You don't seem to be as confident as you were before".

"How did you get that information?" he said, anger building up in his voice.

"Well, you see, Yarolaq" Toph continued, "You were right, it is hard to convict you of things like murder, and so the police of Republic City often ignore things like that, minus special cases of course. However, when you stop paying your taxes, that's where we get interested. It's probably our only way to catch people like you. There's no way out, you don't report your earnings, we lock you up for Tax Evasion, and if you do report, it makes it easier for us to lock you up for the aforementioned Money Laundering and Racketeering".

"ANSWER ME!" Yarolaq screamed.

"Isn't it obvious" Toph said, "Someone in your own triad sold you out, decided they had enough of your little war, and gave us the documents we need".

He sat at his desk for a moment, pondering the revelation, the anger clearly growing inside him.

"LEE" he screamed.

Mr. Lee quickly rushed into the office, and headed to the side of Yarolaq's desk to await his orders.

"It seems we have a traitor in our ranks. I want you to find them and deal with them" he said, "But first, I want you to deal with the Avatar and his friends".

"It isn't worth it, Yarolaq" Toph said, "We have this place surrounded. You won't get out".

"Ha" he said, "You think you know my damn casino better than the back of your hand, huh. Well, you should know that I made sure there is always a way out. Lee, deal with them".

"Right away" Lee said, raising his hands into a waterbending stance.

As the group got into their stances for the fight, Lee took some water out of his flask. He flung the water at Yarolaq, using ice to pin the gangster's hands to his desk.

"What?" Yarolaq said.

Lee proceeded to raise his foot and kick Yarolaq out of his chair, waterbending some of the ice away to allow him to fall to the floor. Yarolaq landed face first on the ground, breaking his nose in the process. He then used his waterbending to create icy handcuffs of sorts for Yarolaq.

"Here you go, Officers" Lee said, "He's all yours".

He motioned to the helpless gangster on the ground.

"Now, I believe we should discuss our agreement, Chief" he said.

"Lee? You? You're the one who squealed to them" Yarolaq said, blood coming out of his nose.

"Yes" he said, "Frankly, I've had enough of your mismanagement of this triad".

"You traitorous scum" Yarolaq said, "My men will kill you for this".

Lee kneeled down to look his former boss in the face.

"Do you know what the difference between you and me is, Yarolaq?" he said, "The men respect me, not you. They won't try anything".

He stood back up, and looked at the group, who were all frankly shocked.

"Now, I believe we agreed…" he started.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me, Lee" Yarolaq suddenly screamed, "Avatar, do you know what this man has done. He's killed people, lots of people. Why don't you arrest him for that?"

Lee looked back at the gangster and shook his head.

"I believe we agreed for amnesty for all my previous crime committed under Yarolaq's command" he continued, emphasizing the last part.

"Oh, you think you can get out that easy" Yarolaq said, "Why don't I tell these people what you can do? Maybe these people should know that you can, what is it called, energybend. Hey, Avatar, ya hear that. Lee can take people's bending away, and even worse, he can give bending. Have you ever seen anybody get more bending, Avatar, it ain't pretty".

Lee shook his head. Aang and the rest of the group were even more shocked then before.

"Don't listen to him" Lee said, "His words are simply the words of a caged criminal who would say anything to get his sentence reduced. And besides, have you ever seen anyone give someone bending? How would it work? The concept itself is absurd".

"I guess that in a way, what you're saying does make sense" Aang said, "Toph, get your police in here and put Yarolaq into custody. We can talk with Lee outside after".

"Right away, Twinkletoes" she said.

Toph left the room, which was soon filled with police. After they put metal handcuffs onto Yarolaq, Lee melted his ice ones and put the water back into his flask. Yarolaq was led out of his casino and put into the back of a police wagon to be processed at the station.

As the car headed out of sight, Lee met with Aang and Toph.

"So, I'm guessing the terms of our agreement are fulfilled, and that I won't be arrested for my crimes under Yarolaq" he said.

"Yes, we will fulfill our end of the bargain" Toph said, "What do you plan to do know?"

Lee chuckled.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lee said, "There is a power vacuum now that Yarolaq is out of the picture. A power vacuum I plan on using to my advantage. I always wanted to be leader of this triad, and with your help, my dream will come true".

"You mean to say you sold out your boss in order to take his place, not because he was a horrible criminal" Aang said.

"We all are horrible criminals, Avatar" Lee said, "Though, I think I will try to end this little war we're having with the Agni Kais. Decisively, in fact".

"Frankly, you disgust me" Aang said, "We would have never done this if we knew what you were planning all along".

"And still be stuck with Yarolaq at the head of this organization?" Lee said, "I don't think so. You see Avatar, there are consequences to every action, every choice. Such as choosing whether or not to kill someone, there are consequences for every decision you make. The trick is to figure out which consequences you can live with, and which you should try to avoid".

"And which consequences did this decision have, the former or the latter?" Aang asked.

"That's for you to figure out, Avatar" he said, "Now, I have some unfinished business to do. Goodbye".

As Lee walked back towards the casino, Aang and Toph started heading back towards their children. As they were walking, Aang started smacking his forehead repeatedly. The two benders stopped.

"Aang, what's wrong?" Toph asked.

"Why does it feel that I'm not doing anything as the Avatar?" he said, "Every time I think I solve a problem, I'm actually just replacing it with another one that could be either better or worse. I mean, look at Yakone, when we arrested him, it simply allowed others like Yarolaq to take control of the criminal underworld. And now, we stopped him, and we have a candidate for Republic City's most dangerous criminal right there to take his place. WHAT AM I EVEN DOING?"

"Relax, Aang. Calm down" she said, "You don't need to yell. I'm pretty sure even everyone here, including Lee, just heard most of your speech. Remember, Aang, we didn't stop Yakone because he was the head of a criminal organization. We stopped him because he was using his bloodbending to hurt others and keep himself in that position. Sure, Yarolaq may have killed people, but he wasn't as bad as Yakone, and that's what matters. Things will never be perfect, we just have to try and make them better".

"Thanks, Toph" he said, smiling at her, "You and Katara always know how to make me feel better".

"That's my job, Twinkletoes" she said, "Now let's get back to the kids before your son does something with my daughter that he will regret".

He laughed at her comment. Before he followed Toph, he looked over his shoulder. Leaning against the wall of the casino, he saw Lee chuckling at him. He seemed to know something Aang didn't and was finding humour in that fact. He turned back and headed to where Tenzin, Lin and Toph were gathered. As he approached he saw his son passionately kiss Lin, as they were a couple. Seeing them reminded him of his own romance with Katara, how it started when they were young and blossomed into something beautiful. He hoped Tenzin has the same fortune.

"Father, are we ready to leave and head back home?" Tenzin said.

"No, I don't think so, son" he said, "Toph, I don't trust Lee, and I think his unfinished business won't be of the legal kind".

"So what are you suggesting?" Toph asked.

"We follow him" he said, "See what that man is up to".

**A/N:** **In this** **chapter, Lin and Tenzin are 17 and 18 respectively. Aang and Toph are 49 years old (Aang is 149 chronologically). Mr. Lee is based off of a mafia "wiseguy", a hired killer who deals with the enemies of his boss. The way Yarolaq is caught, by arresting him for tax evasion, is the most common way big criminals who ran the underworld were caught in real life, Al Capone being a great example. If you have any questions, put them in a review and I will answer them in the Author's Notes for the next chapter. If you have an opinion on the story, please review as well. Next chapter may take a while, as it is long and not exactly the best it could be right now, and I have to rewrite parts of it.**

**EDIT: Had to get rid of some typos. I have two versions of each chapter on my computer, a rough draft, and a final version that has been looked over by some friends. I accidentally uploaded the rough draft yesterday, so sorry. **


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